


Predilections

by captainraz



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Slight Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:39:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainraz/pseuds/captainraz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Our predilections are not as incompatible as I previously suggested."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Predilections

_"I hope we can remain friends."_

Cassandra made her retreat then, drawing on her Seeker training not to run as far and as fast as she could from the Inquisitor. In lieu of running, she stormed through the halls of Skyhold, turning corners on a whim, not caring where she went as long as it was _away_.

Anyone with any sense jumped out of her way as she barrelled down the corridors with a face like thunder, be they soldier, servant or diplomat.

It therefore came as a complete surprise to Cassandra when a hand reached out of a doorway, grabbed her by the collar and dragged her inside. She found herself pinned against the wall by the Left Hand of the Divine, who looked thoroughly enraged.

"What is the meaning of this?" Cassandra demanded, trying to loosen the Nightingale’s grip around her neck. Strong though she was she couldn't move Leliana, no matter how hard she tried and resigned herself to her fate. Leliana's grip around her throat tightened. "You are choking me!"

Leliana ignored her protests. "I heard you. On the battlements, with the Inquisitor."

Cassandra rolled her eyes and made a disgusted noise in her throat. It was more difficult than usual owing to the insistent pressure against her wind pipe. "Of _course_ you did," she said, not bothering to hide the sarcastic tone. "It is your job to know things that are none of your business."

Sister Nightingale narrowed her eyes and Cassandra was reminded of just how dangerous the Spymaster could be. "Then would you mind telling me what in the name of the Maker you were talking about? 'Inquisitor I cannot return you affections, you are a woman.' " She did a passable impression of the Nevarran's accent, which only served to further enrage Cassandra.

"I meant what I said!"

Leliana let out a string of curses that would have sounded more natural coming out of Sera’s mouth. Cassandra looked at her, open mouthed in shock.

"Being pursued by a woman has never been a problem for you before. Why did a Seeker of Truth tell a lie?" Leliana's voice was harsh and unforgiving; the Seeker reacted in kind.

"We are at war!" Cassandra exclaimed. "And she is the Inquisitor. This is no time to indulge in foolish romantic feelings."

"It is also no time to be nursing a broken heart." The Nightingale's voice was like ice. Cassandra wondered what gruesome demise was being considered for her, even now. "We may all be dead soon," Leliana continued. "What better time is there for love?"

"I have made up my mind," she said, determined to stick to her plan and do what she saw as the right thing.

"Your mind may be made up but your heart is not," said Leliana, her voice softening at last. "I _know_ you Cassandra and I know what signs to look for. If you truly could not return her affection would have told her long ago."

Cassandra sagged against the wall, her resolve failing. The hand around her throat loosened giving her the breath to mount one last defence. "I will not be her weakness."

"You won't," said Leliana gently, finally letting the Seeker go. "You will be her strength. Go to her Cassandra, before it is too late."

She didn't need telling twice; Cassandra straightened her collar and fled.

As it happened, the Inquisitor had retreated to her quarters so it didn't take Cassandra long to locate her. Lady Trevelyan was sat at her desk frowning at some papers when the Seeker crested the stairs.

She cleared her throat, nervous. "May I come in?"

The Inquisitor looked up. "Lady Seeker, of course." Her voice was distant and overly formal. She paused, the frown deepening. "What happened to your neck?"

Cassandra tugged awkwardly at her collar. "It's fine. It is nothing."

The Inquisitor looked unconvinced. "It looks like it's going to bruise." Her face darkened. "Who did this?"

Seeker Pentaghast wasn't sure she wanted to set the Inquisitor and the Spymaster at odds with one another, so she demurred. "It is fine, truly. I had an... encounter with a friend who had overheard our earlier conversation."

Trevelyan's look darkened even further. She tried to hide it beneath a professional veneer but didn't react quite fast enough. "And this... friend thought that strangling you was an appropriate reactions to eavesdropping on a _private_ conversation?"

Cassandra sighed; she hadn’t expected Leliana's assault to leave such visible marks, or for the Inquisitor to react so... viscerally to them. "Inquisitor please, it is of no concern. She merely sought to remind me that our... predilections are not as incompatible as I previously suggested."

The anger seemed to bleed out of Trevelyan, leaving her with and utterly blank look on her face. "What?"

Cassandra tugged at her collar, trying to hide the hot flush she could feel creeping up her neck. "In truth, I have been... pursued by other women in the past and even returned their affection. My friend simply wish to remind me of this."

The blank look remained. "You lied to me, Seeker."

The cold use of Cassandra's title stung, but she pressed on. "The Seekers of Truth are skilled at extracting the truth from others, but we are more than willing to use falsehoods to protect our own secrets. I am sorry to have put you on the receiving end of such tactics."

Trevelyan huffed in acknowledgement but the look on her face didn't change. There was no flash of hope in her eyes, nothing. "So... my being a woman isn't the problem?"

Cassandra shook her head. "But..."

"Everything else is," the Inquisitor finished for her. She stood abruptly and went to stand on the balcony, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. After a few moments she turned back towards Cassandra. "Why exactly is it a problem?"

"I would have though that would be obvious."

The Inquisitor shook her head. "Spell it out for me."

"The fate of all Thedas hangs on our actions, our decisions. In the end it may be that the only thing standing between us and the end of the world is that mark on your hand and the strength of your conviction." The Inquisitor looked like she wanted to say something but Cassandra held her hand up to silence her. "I would give my life to keep you safe, you know that, and if I fall you _must_ carry on. I cannot allow myself to be a distraction from what you must accomplish."

"That isn't really your decision, is it?" said the Inquisitor coldly.

"Isn't it?"

"No!" The vehemence behind that single word rocked Cassandra to her core. "You don't get a say in who I care for or how deeply I care for them. You are my protector, Cassandra, you always have been, but you can't protect me from my own heart."

Maker but she wanted to. "I can try," said Cassandra, stubborn to the end. "War is no time for casual dalliance that would only serve to complicate things."

"That would be an admirable sentiment if what I felt for you were in any way casual."

Cassandra was stunned. "Excuse me?"

Trevelyan smiled, a sad, thin smile and stepped towards the Seeker. She reached out with her unmarked hand to caress the deep scar on the other woman's jaw. "Cassandra Pentaghast," she said, her voice gentle. "Don't you know that I love you?"

It felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her head; every inch of her body suddenly felt numb. A strange buzzing sound started up in her ears and she knew her mouth was hanging open in shock. "You can't," she said, quieter than a whisper.

"Why not?" said Trevelyan, her voice rising slightly in anger. "Why is it so hard to believe?"

All Cassandra could hear was the roar in her ears. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think, not with the Inquisitor so close. How could Trevelyan quietly make a declaration of love like that, like it was the simplest thing in the world. How was she supposed to respond?

Although when Cassandra finally managed to get her mind working again, she thought this was exactly what being swept off your feet should feel like.

"I think I need to sit down." Her voice was weak and she didn't sound at all like herself.

The Inquisitor guided her over to the settee and set her down. With something more sturdy than her legs supporting her she felt a little better. Cassandra replayed Trevelyan's words over and over in her mind and felt her lips hitch into a small smile.

_Cassandra Pentaghast, don't you know that I love you?_

A warm feeling had settled in her stomach and it took her a moment to realise it was happiness. She was... happy... that the Inquisitor was in love with her? It appeared so, which made the question of her own feelings a little clearer.

Trevelyan knelt in front of Cassandra and took her hands in hers. Her face was open, expressive and there was just a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Hey," she said, whispering. "You okay?"

Cassandra nodded in reply, although she really wasn't all that convinced. At least the buzzing had stopped. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a little overwhelmed."

The Inquisitor grinned. "I can't say I'm sorry to be the one to get you so flustered. I'm not sure I've ever seen you speechless before."

She'd thought she'd wanted poetry and candles and flowers, and maybe she still did, but wasn't this what it was all about really? This feeling in her chest and the smile on her face and not being able to trust her legs for probably the first time in her life. Cassandra had told Trevelyan that she didn't swoon, but this came damned close.

And by Andraste, she was enjoying it.

"Could you... could you say it again? Please."

The Inquisitor moved closer, rolling up onto the balls of her feet to put her mouth next to Cassandra's ear. "I love you," she said and her voice was low, sultry and absolutely sincere.

Cassandra felt the smile on her face widen and the her heart did something funny in her chest. The Inquisitor, the Maker's chosen and Herald of Andraste loved her. The woman who was going to save the world was in love with her, the rash and self-righteous warrior, impossible though it seemed. And Cassandra found that the feeling in her chest didn't give a damn about titles or gender of any of the other excuses she'd made.

When it came down to it, she just wanted her.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" the Inquisitor asked, and there was a trace of uncertainty in her faltering voice.

Cassandra shook her head, still smiling. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to the other woman's. For a moment the Inquisitor seemed startled and then she settled into it, letting Cassandra set the pace of exploration. After a few moments they parted, but kept their faces close together.

"You can't return my affection then?" the Inquisitor said, a humorous lilt to her voice. The smile was still on her face, and in fact had widened to a grin. Cassandra knew that the needling was good natured but still she felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

"I may have... enjoyed the flirting more than I made out earlier."

"Hmm, I did wonder why you might have been imagining me flirting with you." The Herald's voice was low and teasing and set a fire in Cassandra's skin. She remembered her words from earlier and the warmth in her cheeks intensified.

"Inquisitor..."

"Shh,"she said, pressing a finger to the Seeker’s lips. "Don't say anything." Another kiss was pressed to her lips, far too brief for Cassandra's liking. "I don't want to ruin the moment."

Cassandra shook her head, laughing. "Neither do I but I have something else I wish to say." Trevelyan rocked back on her heels, allowing the Seeker to speak. "This feeling in my chest, I am not certain what it is but I think... I think I feel the same."

The Inquisitor laughed, a pure, joyful sound that made Cassandra's insides sing. "Well I'll be sure to give you plenty of opportunity to find out."

Their lips came together again and Cassandra pulled Trevelyan up onto the settee with her. They settled into each other arms, still kissing, stealing as long a moment as they could.

When they entered the Great Hall for dinner later that evening the two women were stood much closer together than they normally would be, their shoulders practically touching. Cassandra pulled the Inquisitor's chair out for her and then settled into a chair at her right hand. They barely paid attention to anyone else the entire meal.

Leliana, taking her meal in company for once, noticed and was pleased.


End file.
